Paire: a Lifetime of Waiting
by Harthos
Summary: Set in the distant future, two mutants run into each other, as with their first encounter, by chance.
1. Chapter 1

Note: This fiction disregards anything post season one. Why? Because I think that's when the whole show started going South. Sorry, just my opinion. Though, for the sake of this story, I believe the only thing this even effects, is the fact that Peter is still full power. The "Specials" Or "Supers", are refered to as Mutants because, let's face it, sports fans, that's what they are. There are also some subtle, "Hidden" crossover themes.

Paire: A Lifetime of Waiting.

AD: 2093. Sidney, Australia.

Peter Petrelli flew around the night sky, trying to ease his senses. Things had changed a lot in the past 30 years since the Mutants had become public knowledge.

It was nice now, though, not having to worry about hiding from the world. Peter loved flying like this, out in the open. He loved being able to land on the top or the balcony of any building he chose, and just at this time, he spotted one he really liked. However, there happened to be another person there, with super powers. Thanks to a power had obtained only 20 years ago, he was actually able to sense other mutants. 20 years, it sounded like such a short time. And perhaps it was, when one had eternity. He would never stop thinking of the beautiful, sweet girl, who granted him the gift of immortality, nearly a century ago. This new power though, to sense others like him, he had become so fond of it, that he had actually grown to distinguish between mutants he had met before, and those he had not. This was one he had met. He wondered who. It could just as well be an enemy; he had made many of those, especially sense mutants went public. On the other hand… no, he shouldn't even think like that. He carefully landed on the inside of the rail, and stood facing the door, waiting for whatever familiar face he might see, hoping they would be friendly.

Lisa Marratta slowly climbed the stairs of her modest apartment building. She needed some exercise, anyway, and some fresh air. What a wonderful metaphor, she thought to herself, with bitter sarcasm, I may be invulnerable, and immortal, but that doesn't keep my heart from breaking. She had been doing fine after her break up with her most recent boyfriend, until an old friend of hers, a woman she hadn't seen in years, said something about the two of them. It didn't matter though. Finally, beginning to grow a little short of breath, she reached the top of the stares, and reached for the handle. She slowly pulled the door open, but squeaked in shock, to see a dark, mysterious looking man, standing right there before her by the balcony.

~"It's ok!" Said the figure, reaching towards her a little bit. As he did so, he was able to see her face little bit better in the dim moonlight. It was right at that moment, that the two of them, practically simultaneously, he from seeing her a bit better, and she from his voice, had a moment of recognition.

"Claire?Peter?" They had said it as one.

For a moment, they stood standing there silently, looking at each other. Peter was too surprised and overjoyed to know what to say, and Claire, still somewhat recovering from her shock and fear a moment before, was now in a state almost just as intense. But it was she who spoke first.

"Oh, my gosh..! Peter!" She quickly went to him and embraced him.

"Oh Claire. My GOD it's good to see you!"

In this darkness, Peter could barely make out a small grin. "You too Peter." A soft, sweet, small hand stroked his cheek.

After another brief, awkward pause, Peter said, "So um… how have you been?"

Her smile grew as she gave her usual answer. "I'm surviving."

This always made Peter chuckle. "Right."

Again, Peter looked away for a moment, trying to decide what to say. "Wow, what's it been what now, 20 years?"

"25," Said Claire. Before becoming a little more serious. "Um how…? Marie"?

Peter turned away, and went to stand by the rail and look out over the city.

"Oh," she whispered, joining him. Now, for the first time, she could see his face a little better.

He looked down. "Ten years ago, earthquake. I was on the other side of the world. You know, it's funny, all those years she spent fighting super villains, like I do, I was scared to death one day she'd never return. Then, when she retired, I was so relieved. I figured with her power, and mine, I'd be able to keep her around, practically forever."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me. She was a beautiful lady, Peter; every time I saw her, she made me smile. She had a good spirit."

Peter sneared and bitterly chuckled. "Well, you know I always did have a thing for southern girls."

It was too dark for Peter to notice a small blush. Then, there was another pause.

"…You…?"

The sudden breaking of the silence surprised Claire a little, but after an instant, she responded, "..me? Oh. Um, yeah… I was seeing this guy I used to work with, but we broke up like 3 months ago." She slowly shook her head. "I thought I was completely over him, but then I bumped into an old friend of mine from several years ago at a restaurant in town. She started talking about how cute he and I were together, and she just KNEW we were meant for each other… *sigh* It's whatever…"

She turned away, looking out once more at the city lights down below. "I'll be fine. I just figured I needed some fresh air and a place to think. Then I ran into an old friend who frankly scared the shit out of me." She grinned over at him.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, his smile growing. "I can now tell when there is someone with powers around, and you never can be too careful. I sure am glad it was you, though. I've missed you, Claire."

"Me too."

He took her and held her again, giving her a peck on top of her head without thinking. They then both paused, before she slowly withdrew from him.

"So, um… what are you doing here in Sidney?"

"Well, I've actually been living here for about ten years now. I was working for a local news station, but well, I had a sort of discrepancy with my boss, and got fired." She noticed a concerned look on Peter's face. She loved that about him. He never wanted to pry, but being so empathetic, he couldn't ever help being concerned when he knew something was important to you, and he usually always knew. So, she felt compelled to explain. "He wanted me to do this one story about this local celebrity got into some scandalous relationship with a pornstar, and I told him that I didn't want to exploit someone like that; his personal life is none of our business, and he would just have to find someone else to cover it."

Peter smiled at her.

"Clair Bennet, still as head strong as ever; that's good to see. Don't ever change."

Her smiled turned to a grin for a moment before she answered.

"What about you? –don't tell me, site seeing? Knowing you, I'm sure you didn't WALK up here," she teased.

He chuckled a little.

"Yeah, I guess I just wanted a drastic change of scenery. But, I never would have guessed I'd be seeing you here."

Her expression became slightly more serious "So, where are you living, now?"

He looked down thoughtfully for an instant, "I have actually been helping out a little village in central Africa. The people at the hospital there have really appreciated having someone with the ability to heal, there. I've also had the opportunity to do some… "normal" work over there too, like helping to build churches and schools.

"And you, still as noble as ever. Always the hero."

As she said the last, she added more. Though it wasn't spoken, her eyes said it all. Even if Peter had been drunk, and half asleep, he could not have missed them screaming "MY Hero."

Then, they merely stood there, staring at each other. Peter struggled for several moments on whether or not to say the next. Finally, he could hold back no longer.

"Claire…. Let's go somewhere else."

Surprised, she looked at him skeptically, but couldn't hide her grin. "Where did you have in mind?" She asked, only a little hesitantly.

"When's the last time you watched the sun rise in the Rockies?"

She smiled at him, as he took her in his arms, and they slowly ascended into the night sky, before suddenly vanishing.

I hope you all liked it. I actually have a few References and crossovers in here, if you can pick them out, and know where to look. (Hint: Example: "Peter's "ex" in here)

I plan to make a short part two wrap up. But first, I'll see if anyone likes it.


	2. Chapter 2

The next thing she knew, they were descending down upon the majestic mountain range that stood upon the midwest of North America. She would never get used to that, teleporting. She would never get used to it, nor ever stop loving it. It was summer up here in the Northern Hemisphere, but some of the peeks still had some snow on them. Peter set them down on a limb of a towering fur tree. Claire shivered a little. Even though it was summertime, it was still the Rocky Mountains.

"Here," said Peter, taking off his own coat and wrapping it around hers.

She smiled as she snuggled closer to him. The world was deadly quite out here away from civilization, and at this hour. As the stars faded, and the sky turned grey, she saw a raving fly across the sky, cawing as it went.

Peter watched as the eastern horizon began to lighten.

"Here it comes," he whispered.

This was one of the greatest places to watch the sunrise he knew of. The Grand Canyon was another one, which was only a few hundred miles from where they were now. Then again though, they were better dressed for this climate. The two of them sat in still silence, watching intently, as the sun warmed up the world, slowly painting the Rocky Mountain range. Within a few minutes, Claire suddenly realized that they were cuddled together, her head nuzzled against his shoulder. But, how right it felt there. After a few more minutes, she lifted her head, and turned to smile at him. She was looking at him a little differently than she had been back in Sidney, a short while ago. It was because she finally got to see his face completely. Those big, gentle brown eyes. He was also somewhat surprised, because he had just realized that she now had dark hair.

For several moments, the two of them just enjoyed looking at each other. But at the same time, deep down, the two of them couldn't deny the awkwardness and tension between them.

It was once again Peter who spoke first.

"Your hair.."

Claire rolled those sweet, adorable eyes of hers grinning to herself.

"I was wondering when you would say something about it."

"Hey, it was dark."

"So, what do you think?"

He brushed his hand through her dark locks.

"It… It's different," he smiled. "You're still as beautiful as ever, Claire. I… still can't believe.."

Once again, the girl found herself blushing.

"Well, you don't look so bad yourself… for 120 years old." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Hey, I'm 115, thank you very much."

They both shared a moment of humor.

"Well, what do you say we both get out of this tree, and go have some breakfast, I'm starving."

Claire gave him a look.

"Actually, I just had dinner a couple of hours ago. This globetrotting really messes with your natural clock, huh?"

Peter shrugged.

"You get used to it… sort of."

"Well, you can buy me a coffee, I guess."

A short time later, at a little café near the interstate:

"So, how many powers do you think you have now?"

"Hmm, if I had to guess, I'd say about 5 or 6 hundred." He smiled. "Come to think of it, that's why I'm kinda glad Marie never took me to the mansion. Heck, I probably still have powers I haven't explored."

"Well, I'm glad that power is in your hands."

Peter looked away.

"Sometimes I wonder. Did I tell you I've met a couple of other empaths? One of them… I had to fight. I ended up…"

He put his fork down, and Claire put a hand on his.

"Hey."

Peter looked up, and sighed

"It doesn't matter now."

After a brief silence, Claire tried to change the subject a little.

"You know, even after all these years, it still seems kinda hard being.. you know, different." She rolled her eyes as she said the last. "Even when I was married, for all those years, I still sort of felt alone." She looked away sadly. "I miss so many people." She looked back at Peter, "When we were flying back there, it made me think, I couldn't help but think of… it reminded me of.."

"Nathan. I know. I think of him every single time I fly, or see someone else flying. That was the first power I ever used, you know." He smiled a little. "I just wish he would have lived long enough to see us all get to come out of the closet…so to speak."

Claire had been very sad and serious up until just now, as she recalled her deceased father, but with this last comment, she snickered and rolled her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Peter, you're so bad. I can't believe you said it like that."

"Well, that's pretty much how it was," he said, smiling.

Claire decided to play along. "Yeah, I guess we were just born that way." She stuck out her tongue.

"And you say I'M bad, Claire."

She had a mischievous grin on her face.

He looked up at her, smiling, but becoming quieter, more serious.

"Look, there's one more place I want to show you, after we leave here."

"Ok."

After Peter paid the bill, they walked outside, and Peter had Claire hold onto him, which she did, hoping he wouldn't notice her trembling. A moment later, they were back in the mountains, high up on a ledge.

The view was simply breathtaking. Even more so than where they had watched the sun rise.

"Claire, this is where I took Marie, to propose to her, it's also where I took my son, Brad, to tell him about mutants. Claire, you told me about how lonely you felt, even when you got married and had a family. Well, I felt the same way. I loved Marie, with all my heart, or so I thought. When I first met her, I could how lonely she was, because of her power."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me about her, and thinking how terrible it must be to never be able to even shake hands with another human being. It was like a harmful version of your power."

Peter grinned for a moment. "You know, it's funny, she told me she was once in a relationship with a man who could heal like you. She said he was the only one she'd been able to hold, or to kiss. But she still knew she was hurting him, every time. And then she met me, and for the first time, she could be close to someone, hold me, kiss me, without ever having to cause me pain, make me pass out. You see, I grew close to her, not because I pitied her, but because I knew she needed me. She appreciated me just being there. For that reason alone, just because she was able to be physical with someone for a change, I was her hero."

Claire's expression changed significantly, and she could feel a stirring deep inside her, as she heard Peter say this.

Peter just looked out among the mountains and smiled for a moment.

"But as much as I felt connected to her, and felt so needed and appreciated, there was still something missing."

Claire knew exactly where he was going with this, and she was trying so hard to suppress grinning.

He turned to face her now.

"Claire, from the moment we bumped into each other at your school.." she couldn't help but giggle at just how literally it had happened. He smiled back at her.

"Up until then, I had felt lost, not just socially, but it was like I had no sense of purpose in the world." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Then I looked into those beautiful, sweet blue eyes. I saw hidden pain there, but more than that, I saw someone with a very special destiny. Someone with the power to change the world."

She looked away and smirked bitterly.

"Sure, I've really changed the world…"

Peter became very serious.

"Hey," he said, lifting her chin to face him. "You know, the last time I met you, you were teaching kids at a highschool in London. Now, who's to say one of those wouldn't go on to help end world hunger, or, or find the cure for aids?"

He reached down and took her hands in his.

"I know you've changed my life, Claire."

At that moment, she suddenly hardened a little.

"Peter, how can we..? Nathan, he's"

Peter let go of her hands.

"What Claire? What related to us? Because we're not supposed to!"

He turned away for a moment, towards the mountains.

"You know, I am sick and tired of always just doing what I'm supposed to do. What about us? What about what we want? You look at me, and tell me you haven't felt the same way, Claire."

Claire stood there, staring into his eyes, fighting back tears.

"You're right. I do have feelings for you, Peter. I always did." She looked up at him with that irresistible, sweet, sad smile. "You made me feel like I finally had a place in the world, too," Then, she looked away, out off the ledge, and sighed as she added, "but we've gone our separate ways. Peter, we both got married."

"Yeah Claire, we did. Like I said, I really loved Marie, and Greg was a great man. But if you were to look deep down inside, we both know that our hearts would have preferred each other in a second. And all because 'we're not supposed to!' I don't buy that, especially from you, Claire."

Claire did not respond for a very long time; instead, she just stood there, for a very long time, taking it all in.

"You wanna know something, this is probably the first time since Greg died, hm, before Greg died, that I have really felt alive."

Then she grinned, more than she had at all in the past few hours.

"There you go again, you've swooped in and rescued me, from all the monotony, the loneliness."

She shook her head, still grinning.

"You always manage to be the hero."

Then, after a moment, she became a little more serious. Peter knew this look; it was the expression she had when resolving to take action.

"You know what, you're right, Peter. I mean… why should we be forced to live out our lives, forever… as we watch those around us, fade away, and we just keep forcing ourselves to stay separated, alone? Besides, if we hadn't ever met… I probably would have been.. Well, let's say, I would have been having another kind of homecoming."

"-and I would have died that night, without your power. You know that, Claire. And yet, here we are. Because we met, I now know that there is someone in the world who not only needs me, but who really understands me, and it is because of her, that I am alive and well, a hundred years later, still thinking of her."

Claire smiled with that look, the look that only a woman totally smitten, gives a man when she truly surrenders to her feelings for him.

"And she hasn't stopped thinking of you, Peter."

She stepped in closer to be near him.

"Let's give this a try, then. After all, why not? After a lifetime of waiting, we deserve what we really wanted, all along."

She grinned a sly, mischievous smirk.

"Besides, no ones left around to tell us it's wrong anymore."

Though her expression was filled with mischief, Peter in all his empathy, could clearly see the bitter sarcasm, the hurt, as she said this. He held her close, letting his own pain and loss, mesh with hers, as they were finally able to let themselves go, after all this time.

After awhile, another thought came to him, and even as the sentence began to leave his lips, he realized he probably shouldn't have said it.

"We won't be able to have kids."

She looked up at him, seriously.

"I know. But like we said, we've both already had a chance to have families; we both have wonderful, beautiful children. We had the normal, married life." She smirked again, "well, normal for us… But I am tired of normal. I am ready for wonderful. I'm ready for us."

"Me too, Claire."

As he held her in his arms and took her into a hot, passionate kiss, he literally swept her off her feet, as they rose into the early morning sky.


End file.
